Çalişkan, E. | Çakiroglu, Y. | Coşkun, E. | Kumbak, B. | Müezzinoglu, B. | Çorakçi, A.

Article | 2009 | Journal of the Turkish German Gynecology Association10 ( 4 ) , pp.194 - 198

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a copper intrauterine device on the expression of mucin- 1 (MUC1) and integrin ß1 in the luteal phase endometrium. Material and Methods: 25 regularly menstruating women (25-35 years) who were willing to use copper intrauterine device contraception participated in this study. Endometrial sampling via a Pipelle canulla was performed on the 24th day of their cycle and repeated three months after insertion of TCu380A IUD. Immunohistochemical staining was performed for MUC1 and integrin ß1 in the endometrial sections. Staining intensity was graded under the conventional light microscope. Results: The . . .mean age of the study population was 32.8±5.3 years (25-35). MUC1 expression of the endometrial luminal epithelium cytoplasm and the luminal epithelium increased significantly after three months of IUD usage (p=0.01; p<0.001 respectively). Neither integrin ß1 expression of endometrial luminal epithelium cytoplasma nor of the endometrial stroma changed after three months of IUD usage (p=0.16; p=0.22 respectively). Conclusion: The increase of the embryo implantation inhibitor MUC1 synthesis may be responsible for the IUD's mechanism of action for pregnancy prevention. Integrin ß1 expression of the endometrial luminal epithelium cytoplasm and stroma are not affected by the use of copper IUD Daha fazlası Daha az

Goker, I. | Baslo, B. | Ulgen, Y. | Ertas, M.

Article | 2009 | Digest Journal of Nanomaterials and Biostructures4 ( 1 ) , pp.133 - 139

The aim of this study is to establish an experimental system for scanning electromyography (EMG) to visualize the electrical activity of the motor unit (MU) territory in investigating the alterations in MU size in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME). MU is the basic unit of the skeletal muscle. Conventional EMG has already been used in routine clinical examinations to diagnose neuromuscular diseases. It provides information in terms of the amplitude and the duration. It reflects only a limited part of the MU. Scanning EMG method gives temporal and spatial information about the MU providing a map for the entire motor unit. An experimen . . .tal system consisting of an EMG instrument, an actuator, a data acquisition system and a notebook for scanning EMG was designed and set up. The measurements are achieved by two concentric needle electrodes (CNE). An M-File in MATLAB 7.2 is used to construct 3-D plots of the MU territory. Measurements have been performed with seven JME patients and two healthy volunteers. The genetic origin of the JME suggested the subclinical anterior horn cell involvement in JME. Some evidences were found on the preponderance of the normal 'large' MUs using several electrophysiological methods. Scanning EMG system is used to confirm the presence of these large MUs. 3-D maps of the MU territories are constructed using the data acquired from the subjects. It has been demonstrated that the experimental system can be used to examine the motor unit territory different groups of diseases for clinical studies. This study will be extended to ten JME and to ten healthy volunteers, and by including three spinal muscular atrophy cases (SMA) Daha fazlası Daha az

Hizel, C. | Gök, S. | Sardaş, S. | Bernard-Gallon, D. | Maugard, C. | Genç, E.

Conference Object | 2009 | Current Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine7 ( 4 ) , pp.297 - 301

Pharmacogenetics has its roots in the 1950s with pioneering studies of monogenic variations in drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics. With the availability of high-throughput genomics technologies and the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, we are now in the postgenomics era. This transition is increasingly marked with study of polygenic and multifactorial traits such as common complex human diseases as well as pharmacodynamic differences among populations. Changes that emerge from postgenomics medicine are not, however, limited to seismic shifts in scale and scope of pharmacogenetics research. Importantly, many low- and . . .middle-income countries (LMICs) of the South, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle-East are becoming notable contributors with rapid globalization of science and increasing access to genomics technologies. This brings about, in parallel, an acute demand for regional capacity building in LMICs so that the future evaluation and implementation of postgenomics technologies in personalized medicine take place in an integrated, sustainable and equitable manner. With this overarching vision, we herein report the founding of the Istanbul Working Group in Personalized Medicine (IWG-PM, represented by the authors of this report) that was inaugurated as a component of the 2nd Symposium on Personalized and Predictive Medicine held in Istanbul, sponsored by the Yeditepe University, and the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TUB?TAK) (10-12 September, 2009). While highlighting the applications of personalized medicine in oncology, psychiatry, nutrition, infectious diseases, occupational health, genetic testing and systems biology, the symposium also raised challenging questions in the context of LMICs. How can we best evaluate the promises, intended and unintended impacts of personalized medicine and enabling technologies in the context of Turkey, and the LMICs more generally? IWG-PM is a small but significant and necessary step to initiate regional capacity building in Turkey. We trust that the IWG-PM initiative may also provide a constructive example to further develop capacity in other LMICs in the Eastern Mediterranean region. © 2009 Bentham Science Publishers Ltd Daha fazlası Daha az

Yilmaz, D. | Yüksel, D. | Şenbil, N. | Eminzade, S. | Kilinç, K. | Anlar, B. | Gürer, Y.

Article | 2009 | Pediatric Neurology41 ( 3 ) , pp.179 - 182

Oxidative damage plays a role in neurodegenerative diseases. Levels of cerebrospinal fluid nitrite and nitrate levels (oxidation products that provide an indirect estimation of nitric oxide) were investigated in relation to clinical and laboratory features in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (n = 47) and age-matched control (n = 43) groups. Significantly decreased levels of nitrite (median, 4.91 µmol/L) and nitrate (median, 6.14 µmol/L) were found in the patients. Nitrite and nitrate levels did not correlate with clinical or laboratory findings, except for presence of myoclonus. Cerebrospinal fluid nitrite levels of subacute scle . . .rosing panencephalitis patients without myoclonic jerks were significantly higher than in those with myoclonus (median, 15.63 vs 4.34 µmol/L, respectively). The higher levels of nitrite in these patients can be explained by short disease duration and early stages of disease. Nitrate levels in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis patients with myoclonus (median, 9.26 µmol/L) were higher than in those without myoclonus (median, 4.25 µmol/L). Microbleeding resulting in conversion of nitrite to nitrate and increased production of superoxide can be suggested as possible mechanisms underlying these findings. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved Daha fazlası Daha az

Tolstykh, V.

Article | 2009 | Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society147 ( 3 ) , pp.541 - 566

We transfer the results of Dyer, Formanek and Kassabov on the automorphism towers of finitely generated free nilpotent groups to infinitely generated free nilpotent groups. We prove that the automorphism groups of infinitely generated free nilpotent groups are complete. By combining the results of Dyer, Formanek and Kassabov with the results in this paper, one gets that the automorphism tower of any free nilpotent group terminates after finitely many steps. © 2009 Copyright Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Darby, J.

Article | 2009 | World Economy32 ( 3 ) , pp.460 - 478

With similar production strategies and shared policy objectives forming a common background in both countries, plans to liberalise automotive production and trade emerged in Turkey and Australia after 1980. The subsequent outcomes of these attempts to abandon protection were to diverge, however, and the future viability of these two formerly heavily protected markets has now come to depend increasingly upon access to regional trade blocs. Examination of the path followed by these two economies as they adjust to the consequences of automotive liberalisation clarifies not only comparative economic performance in key areas of industry . . .and trade, it also highlights the influence of differing levels of multi-state economic integration, as these processes create, or fail to create, new opportunities for manufacturing economies operating in their individual regional geographic settings. © Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Daha fazlası Daha az

Erce, Şengül | Erdener, H. | Akay, R.G. | Yücel, H. | Baç, N. | Eroglu, I.

Article | 2009 | International Journal of Hydrogen Energy34 ( 10 ) , pp.4645 - 4652

Sulfonated polyether-etherketone (SPEEK) has a potential for proton exchange fuel cell applications. However, its conductivity and thermohydrolytic stability should be improved. In this study the proton conductivity was improved by addition of an aluminosilicate, zeolite beta. Moreover, thermohydrolytic stability was improved by blending poly-ether-sulfone (PES). Sulfonated polymers were characterized by H-NMR. Composite membranes prepared were characterized by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) for their proton conductivity. Degree of sulfonation (DS) values calculated from H-NMR results, and both proton conductivity and . . .thermohydrolytic stability was found to strongly depend on DS. Therefore, DS values were controlled time in the range of 55-75% by controlling the reaction time. Zeolite beta fillers at different SiO2/Al2O3 ratios (20, 30, 40, 50) were synthesized and characterized by XRD, EDX, TGA, and SEM. The proton conductivity of plain SPEEK membrane (DS = 68%) was 0.06 S/cm at 60 °C and the conductivity of the composite membrane containing of zeolite beta filled SPEEK was found to increase to 0.13 S/cm. Among the zeolite Beta/SPEEK composite membranes the best conductivity results were achieved with zeolite beta having a SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of 50 at 10 wt% loading. Single fuel cell tests performed at different operating temperatures indicated that SPES/SPEEK membrane is more stable hydrodynamically and also performed better than pristine SPEEK membranes which swell excessively. Membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) were prepared by gas diffusion layer (GDL) spraying method. The highest performance of 400 mA/cm2 was obtained for SPEEK membrane (DS 56%) at 0.6 V for a H2-O2/PEMFC working at 1 atm and 70 °C. At the same conditions Nafion® 112 gave 660 mA/cm2. It was observed that the operating temperature can be increased up to 90 °C with polymer blends containing poly-ether-sulfone (PES). © 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy Daha fazlası Daha az

Sorguvern, E. | Dogan, Y. | Bayraktar, F. | Sanliturk, K.Y.

Article | 2009 | Noise Control Engineering Journal57 ( 3 ) , pp.169 - 178

In this study, aerodynamics and aeroacoustics of two radial fans are investigated by using a hybrid computational aeroacoustics method. Unsteady turbulent flow field of both fans is simulated with large eddy simulation (LES). Acoustic sources are computed based on the pressure fluctuations. Inhomogeneous wave equation, which accounts for the propagation, diffraction and scattering of the acoustic waves, is solved to determine the far field sound pressure level with the boundary element method. Numerical results are validated with experimental data. Sound pressure level distribution in narrow band frequency spectrum and directivity o . . .f the acoustic waves are predicted numerically with a high accuracy. Results of the LES provide an insight into the turbulent flow and noise generation mechanisms, which can be utilized to reduce fan noise. © 2009 Institute of Noise Control Engineering Daha fazlası Daha az

C. Ucak

Article | 2009 | European Journal of Physics30 ( 5 ) , pp.945 - 953

A ladder network constructed by an elementary two-terminal network consisting of a parallel resistor-inductor block in series with a parallel resistor-capacitor block sometimes is said to have a non-dispersive dissipative response. This special ladder network is created iteratively by replacing the elementary two-terminal network in place of the resistors. In this paper, it will be demonstrated that, in fact, non-dispersive dissipative response conclusion of this special ladder network is not accurate for steady-state condition. Furthermore, the voltage profile of this special ladder network exhibits a fractal form called the Lévy C . . . curve or Lévy dragon in a certain condition. Therefore, this special ladder network may be called the Lévy ladder network. This ladder network might be interesting for physics and electrical engineering students and they may encounter when dealing with this network series and parallel combinations of impedances. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd Daha fazlası Daha az

G. Yüksel | G. Karlikaya | K. Tutkavul | A. Akpinar | C. Örken | H. Tireli

Article | 2009 | Neurosciences14 ( 3 ) , pp.249 - 253

Objectives: To evaluate the different localizing electrodiagnostic techniques of ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow (UNE), particularly, comparison of the sensitivities of long segment stimulation across the elbow, versus short segment stimulation. Methods: Patients who were referred to the Neurophysiology Laboratory of Haydarpaşa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey between 2000-2004 with a preliminary diagnosis of UNE were retrospectively evaluated. We compared the sensitivity of studying long segments (8-12 cm) versus short segments (3 cm) for the diagnosis of UNE in 93 limbs. Results: The study group consiste . . .d of 55 females and 31 males. Slowing of the conduction velocity (50%) is rare Daha fazlası Daha az

Yazar, T | Pakdil, O

Conference Object | 2009 | ECAADE 2009: COMPUTATION: THE NEW REALM OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN , pp.145 - 151

This paper is about short term and contextually limited kit-of-parts exercises in architectural education. Studio exercises are one of the key educational tools in architecture, which should be reconsidered with the developing technologies. As design computing becomes the mainstream thinking in architecture, the need for not only renewed studio exercises but for new educational frameworks becomes an essential issue. Thus, in this paper we will be proposing a different perspective on digital studio education, by explaining the fundamentals of studio exercises and their digital transformation potentials. Our experience with one of the . . . most common kit-of-parts exercises, the nine-square grid, as a computational design problem for the first year students will be presented here as a part of this on going study Daha fazlası Daha az

Bildirici, M. | Ersin, O.O.

Article | 2009 | Expert Systems with Applications36 ( 4 ) , pp.7355 - 7362

In the study, we discussed the ARCH/GARCH family models and enhanced them with artificial neural networks to evaluate the volatility of daily returns for 23.10.1987-22.02.2008 period in Istanbul Stock Exchange. We proposed ANN-APGARCH model to increase the forecasting performance of APGARCH model. The ANN-extended versions of the obtained GARCH models improved forecast results. It is noteworthy that daily returns in the ISE show strong volatility clustering, asymmetry and nonlinearity characteristics. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.